Young farmers

Fonds Coopératif d'aide à la relève agricole

Annually, the Fonds coopératif d’aide à la relève agricole (FCARA) welcomes sixty or so aspiring producers from all over Quebec.

This three-year program, administrated by participating cooperatives in the La Coop network, enables young cooperative farmers to benefit from financial support with the collaboration of Desjardins Group, professional support and range of skill-development opportunities.

At La Coop Unifrontières, we care for the development of young farmers. They always had a special place within the cooperative and we want to continue to focus on them in the years to come. Therefore, we are proud to participate in the FCARA proram. As a matter of fact, in the last 9 years we have supported 15 young farmers in their establishment projects.

Young farmers, supported by their local cooperative, can get financial support from the FCARA. The support is available for a maximum of 3 years and is non renewable. The program has 3 components:

(Benefits and obligations apply to successful applicants only.)

Special succession discount

10% of the value of qualifying input purchases, proportional to the applicant’s interest (shares) in their business up to a maximum of $5,000/year per agricultural company.*

* In order to qualify for this component, the member’s input purchases must be made primarily at the local cooperative. See list for eligible input purchases.

Professional support

Free access to Shepell, a program that provides professional services in psychology, law, and administration.

Skills Development

Each recipient will be required, for the duration of their assistance, to commit to developing their professional skills through the provided training (total of 21 credits) and their participation in certain community activities.

For the duration of their assistance, the candidate undertakes to earn a minimum of seven credits per year in training recognized by the Board of Directors of the Fonds coopératif d’aide à la relève agricole. The recipient can choose from a dozen courses based on their interests and needs.

For the duration of their assistance, the participant agrees to take part in a minimum of two community activities per year. The recipient may choose from the list of associative activities recognized by the Fonds’ Board of Directors.

How to benefit from the Fund?

La Coop Unifrontières can welcome 1 new member per year into the program of the Fonds coopératif de la relève agricole.

To meet eligibility requirements, the candidate must :

Be a member of a local (farm) cooperative, of the Fédération de la relève agricole du Québec (FRAQ) (candidate), and

Lysanne David, communications coordinator

Bursary

Awarding of scholarships

In addition to its participation in the FCARA program, each year, La Coop Unifrontières awards scholarships to students who have distinguished themselves academically in various agricultural sectors. This is another way for La Coop to support and encourage young people of the next generation in this trade.